Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosSharing responsibility on the road
By Heather Clark / The Bulletin
Published: March 11. 2008 4:00AM PSTAlthough he’s not a cyclist, Mike Dague of Tumalo understands why his rural community is a popular route for road-bike riders.
“It’s beautiful out here,” says Dague, a 10-year Central Oregon resident who lives off of Tumalo Reservoir Road north of Bend. “There are two or three different loops that are really scenic. If I were a bicyclist, this would be a prime ride.”
But over the years, Dague has noticed that tensions between cyclists and vehicle drivers in the area are escalating, and he worries that eventually someone is going to get hurt. Some cyclists, he observes, annoy drivers by riding two or three abreast down a narrow road and then fail to yield when traffic approaches. On the other hand, Dague says he has seen guys in trucks go out of their way to drive off the side of the road and kick up gravel to spray cyclists.
“There seems to be an increased sense of belligerence (among cyclists),” Dague says. “Cyclists riding doubles or triple right down the middle of Tumalo Reservoir Road, and they will not yield. I try to tread lightly and be respectful of other people’s rights. It’s getting to the point where bikers are pissing people off out here.”
Dague adds that he and his neighbors are supportive of cyclists, but also that they would like to see a more common-sense approach to sharing the rural road.
Bicycles in Oregon are considered vehicles, and their operators have the same rights — and the same responsibilities — as vehicle drivers. (Go to http://egov.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED to download a copy of the Oregon Bicycle Manual.)
In 2006, 746 cyclists statewide were injured and 14 were killed in crashes involving motor vehicles, according to the most recent crash-reporting data from the Oregon Department of Transportation. About 20 percent of those incidents took place at dusk or in other low-light conditions, and nearly half were caused by a motor vehicle failing to yield to a cyclist.
According to the state report, intersections are the most common site of collisions between motor vehicles and cyclists. Errors such as failing to yield, turning into oncoming traffic or disregarding traffic signs — responsibilities shared equally by motorists and bicyclists — top the list of accident-causing behavior. Deschutes County does not keep specific statistics on bicycle/motor vehicle incidents.
While in-town riding is certainly more dangerous, tempers flare between road users just about anywhere — especially where cyclists are traveling in groups of two or more. I rarely have an issue with a vehicle when I’m riding alone. The hostility meter rises when a whole pack of cyclists tries to make its way through town or engages (inattentively, perhaps) in a chatty, social ride on the back roads of Central Oregon. This procession of riders slows up vehicle traffic and may make it difficult, or downright unsafe, for cars to pass.
A common complaint among drivers is that even when a bike lane exists on the road some cyclists continue to ride on the fog line or just to the left of it. Drivers should remember that most cyclists don’t want to be in the way. In fact, most riders purposely choose country roads or roads with wide shoulders whenever possible. The cyclist might well be veering into the vehicle lane to avoid potential tire-flattening or crash-causing debris that often clutters the bike lane. Give bicyclists plenty of clearance when passing on the street so they have room to move around hazards such as potholes, broken glass, storm grates, and Central Oregon’s sometimes thick blanket of red cinders.
The letter of the law is this: A bicyclist is not required to keep to the right if a lane is too narrow to allow a bicycle and vehicle travel side by side, or if riding close to the edge of the roadway is unsafe because of parked vehicles, fixed or moving objects, animals, or road surface hazards. When lane width permits, bicyclists may ride side by side along Oregon roads. Of course, “when lane width permits” is open to interpretation and is the cause of much frustration between cyclists and drivers.
Steve Esselstyn, community liaison officer with the Bend Police Department, says problems arise when both road users become territorial. He urges motorists and cyclists to show common courtesy and to maintain a sense of “We’re all in this together.”
Safely navigating the area’s many roundabouts can be a head-scratcher for cyclists, and there are two ways to do it. Riders can dismount and walk their bikes in the roundabout’s pedestrian crosswalk, or they can ride through the roundabout in the center of the lane as a vehicle, following the same rules of yield and merge that apply to motorists.
Cyclists should make sure to signal in advance when entering and exiting a roundabout, and they should be careful to control speed — a violation I admit I frequently commit when entering a roundabout after coming off a descent. All it would take would be for a vehicle to hit the brakes and I’d be cozy with the trunk.
By contrast, Esselstyn notes that cyclists who are timid or who hesitate in a roundabout can be equally dangerous. While in a roundabout, bicyclists should never attempt to overtake a car — nor should cars try to pass a cyclist.
As Central Oregon’s population continues to grow, along with its popularity as a vacation destination, the law of large numbers means incidents between cyclists and motorists will likely also become more common, Esselstyn believes.
“Five years ago, (we had) one or two incidents a year of bike rage,” the officer says. “Now we have 10 or 15, and most we don’t hear about.”
Both motorists and cyclists can point to the other users’ bad behavior. But pointing fingers won’t make Central Oregon’s roadways more harmonious. For my part, I’ll begin by obeying the 15 mph speed limit through roundabouts.
What can you do?
Heather Clark can be reached at 419-8053 or at bulletinheather@gmail.com.
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